It Began with a Parachute

by William R. Rang
Available from Inheritance Publications and Amazon
****
Children will enjoy this story set in Nazi-occupied Holland. Bert learns lessons about obedience, friendship and truth after he rescues an American pilot who had been shot down. Every time he directly or indirectly disobeys his parents, he learned that he'd made the wrong decision. This is one children's story where the parents are not pitted against the children. Instead the Christian parents are on the children's side. There is plenty of adventure and character-building incidents in the short story, where the main people want to honor Christ. It would make a great book to read aloud to the family.

Corrie Ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels Den

by Janet and Geoffrey Benge
Available from Amazon
***
This book, as do many of the Benge's biographies, begins the first chapter in the middle of the story to capture the reader's attention. The second chapter goes back to Corrie's younger days and shows the reader of her background and heart for service.

This biography is a great introduction to Corrie Ten Boom for children or those unfamiliar with her life. If you are already familiar with her story, read her own words in "The Hiding Place", and "A Prisoner and Yet...".

Snow Treasure

by Marie McSwigan
Available from Amazon
****

In 1940 the Nazis came to Norway. The patriots of the country did not want their country’s gold to fall into Nazi hands and support the war from the wrong side, but knew of no way to get it to safety. This is the story of the brave children who appeared to constantly be playing in the snow, but were transporting the gold on their sleds past the Nazis. At night men would locate the gold where the children had hidden it, and remove it to a ship. It was taken safely away to America beyond the Nazis’ reach.

This story would be ideal for a family read aloud book.

When Hitler Stole Link Rabbit

by Judith Kerr
Available from Amazon
**
Anna did not really think of herself as Jewish as she lived in Berlin. She was just a German girl. That is, until the Nazis came into power, and her father’s writing was no longer acceptable, merely because he was Jewish. So her family left Germany for Switzerland, and began a life which Anna discovered was called that of a “refugee”. We see the way her life changed from what she had always known in first in Switzerland, then France, and finally in England. Her experiences, based on the author’s own girlhood, are enlightening and entertaining as the reader reflects on the events of the time. There is nothing otherwise spectacular that occurs, and the drama unfolds like a “Little House” book.

One incident that rather bothered me was when Anna’s father was having nightmares. As she went to bed one night, she said something to the effect of, “Please, can I have them instead.” The book stated that Anna did not really believe in God, but she thought there might be someone who could arrange things. When her father’s nightmares ended, Anna secretly congratulated herself. I realize that all Jews do not believe in God, but I do, and would discuss this and a few other attitudes with any younger readers.

One Woman Against the Reich

by Helmut W. Ziefle
Available from Amazon
*****

This is a timely book for today. Maria Ziefle was a strong Christian woman, and was very concerned about the Nazi influence on her family. As they dealt with the Hitler Youth, Nazi neighbors, the draft, horrors of war, pressures from “the Party”, the heartache of seeing so much wickedness, and so much more, Maria prayed that their family would remain alive and faithful to God.

Today in America we do not live with the horrors the Ziefle family faced. But as our culture becomes more Godless, our children can innocently be drawn into it, just as Kurt was attracted to the Hitler Youth. Parents must be vigilant in prayer and in teaching their children what is good and right and honoring to God. This woman’s story will be an encouragement for many parents. Especially as the book was written by her son.

Everything was not ideal in the Ziefle family. Georg was not the family’s spiritual leader; his wife was. Everyone may not agree with certain stands they chose to make, but ideal families exist only in fiction, and to agree with everything in a book, we must write it ourselves.

Many photographs are included throughout the book of the people and places described. The story unfolds in an easy way, although the events make for less than easy thoughts as we comfortably read about the Ziefle’s struggles. The war is not the focus, but rather the experiences of a Christian German family who did not support the Nazis. Readers of all ages will enjoy this biography, but parents in particular will be blessed by the account of a woman who fought for her family.

Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Stopped Death

by Sharon Linnea
Available from Amazon
*****
Raoul Wallenberg had a mission for his life from his youngest days. He was impressed with the story of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and wanted to save people in a similar manner. During World War II, Raoul worked at the Swedish embassy in Poland, giving Swedish citizenship to thousands of Jews. These “new” Swedes were protected by Sweden, since the Nazis were not at war with Sweden, and had no wish to be. Raoul helped them out of the country, and gave others work there in his department. He provided ration cards to the starving Jews. Secretly employed by the United States government, he hired a photographer to document the activities in which he lived. Some of those photographs are in this book. Raoul fought with Adolph Eichmann with everything he had: money, wits, subtlety, threats and power, and he had plenty to work with. He escaped several attempts on his life, but in the end, fell into the hands of the Russians, who he had supposed would be friendly to him. No one really knows, or has made public, what happened to him after that. The Russian government claimed that he died, but many people reported sharing a cell with him after that.

This book was easy to read: a real page turner, but not simplistic. Linnea pulls her readers into the world of Raoul Wallenberg, and makes them care about his life. Certainly not a dry biography, it reads like a novel following an undercover agent. Even young children would be interested in his story. Read this biography, and learn of a daring and courageous man who defied the powers and authorities to save life.

Journey Through the Night

Journey Through the Night by Anne De Vries
****
This book opens just before the start of World War II in the Netherlands. John is part of a Christian family, and they just want to be safe. But then around them, they see others on their way to death camps. They begin by harboring a "diver," a young man named William who helped British pilots escape from German hands. They go on to take in pilots who had been shot down, all the while keeping them safely hidden and away from the prying eyes of ones who earn 30 guilders for each life. One man had become very rich on the deaths of hidden Jews, pilots, and those who helped them. John and his father see no choice but to become more involved in the underground. It did not begin consciously at first, they were just offering a safe haven to those who would be killed if caught. But they couldn't stop there. It wouldn't be right to let things go on as they were without doing what they could.

This book does not paint any people as heroes, as we usually think of them. Instead, it portrays them as heroes usually are, ordinary people who see they must do what is right, whatever it cost. People whose names will never be remembered by many people who benefit from their sacrifices.

They listen to their forbidden radio, to hear messages from the Queen and her ministers. They realize that the underground is an army, and they are fighting a war. The leaders in their area had a meeting one day over what they would do about a certain spy who was responsible for many, many deaths. They decided that he would have to be "taken out" to save the lives of many others. One day John and William met up with him, and "took him out." John's anguish over his responsibility in the death of another person is portrayed clearly as he later asks his father, "This is a war, right? We are fighting for the right, aren't we? We had do to it to save others, right?" War is not a comfortable or pretty thing, or an adventure.

I don't know if I can say I enjoyed this book, but I believe it was a good book. I couldn't put it down once I had started it. It chronicles events until the end of the war, and the family is always concerned about doing what was right. I would not recommend this book to those who are nonresistant. It does give a picture of the war, and Anne De Vries lived through it, and should know of what she is writing. She also knows how to touch the heart.